Sally Hansen Topcoat Challenge - Day 1

This week's topcoat is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. This is about as bog-standard as you can get for topcoats, available in drug stores all over. It's cheap, easily available, and dries super fast.

The main issue I had with application was dripping - I had a couple of nails that required extra clean up due to topcoat dripping onto my cuticles. Other than that, this is a quick, easily applied topcoat, with no strong odours.

I cleaned and buffed my nails, then applied three thin coats of Hits No Olimpo in Dioniso, the same polish I used for the Poshe Topcoat Challenge and Seche Vite Topcoat Challenge. I also kept the same unwrapped finger - the middle finger on my right hand, due to how short it is.












Here it is right after application.

Left hand:


Right hand:

Seche Vite Topcoat Challenge - Day 1

This week's topcoat is Seche Vite. Though it is by far the most loved topcoat amongst nail polish lovers, there are some who just hate it for its strong smell and tricky application. It also has a reputation for shrinkage.

I have to agree on the smell - it's very strong! I always use thie topcoat in a well-ventilated area. It also requires a bit more work to apply nicely - too little topcoat and it pulls, too much topcoat and it wrinkles. And if you don't get every bit of polish covered with nicely wrapped tips, it will shrink like whoa.

Having said that, there's a reason people love it! It's super shiny, and dries very fast. But how about longevity?

I cleaned and buffed my nails, then applied three thin coats of Hits No Olimpo in Dioniso, the same polish I used for the Poshe Topcoat Challenge. I also kept the same unwrapped finger - the middle finger on my right hand, due to how short it is.









Here it is right after application. Sorry for the lack of holo goodness - the sun in Ottawa is not cooperating today

Left hand:


Right hand:


But how will it fare over the next few days? This will be an extra challenge for Seche Vite as I'm on the road for the next few days, so it'll have to deal with overhead bins and luggage.

Poshe Topcoat Challenge: Day 4

At the end of four days, my right hand is definitely suffering. The initial lack of tip wrapping on my middle finger is showing badly, my thumb has started to fray, and my index finger came out horribly after I had to wash some dishes this evening. My left hand's faring better, but the huge gouge from the dishwasher incident at work looks horrible!


Left hand:


Right hand:


Overall I'd say Poshe held up pretty well. After four days, the worst of the chipping was caused by a lack of wrapping, and an incident that would have taken off any topcoat! For $7, I'm pretty impressed, and I enjoyed wearing this holo purple a lot.

But it's definitely time for a change!

Next week: Seche Vite.

Poshe Topcoat Challenge: Day 3

It begins!

Left hand:


Right hand:


At the end of two days, things are starting to fray. An unfortunate run in with the dishwasher at my office took a huge chip out of the middle finger on my right hand, and the lack of tip wrapping is taking a toll on the right hand. Otherwise, things are holding up nicely! I'd say if it wasn't for the lack of wrapping and the stupid dishwasher, we'd still have a perfect mani.

Poshe Topcoat Challenge: Day 2

After a full day of wear, Poshe is holding up nicely! I see very little chipping (in fact, I didn't see any til I saw the close up of my thumb), but I did notice some shrinkage.

Left hand:


Right hand:



Here you can clearly see where I missed a spot wrapping the tip of this nail. The center and far edge were fine, but this edge shrank back a LOT, leaving the polish even more open to chipping later.



These next two pictures clearly show the difference between a wrapped and unwrapped tip. The first picture is properly wrapped on every coat, giving an even colour right to the edge of the nail.



The second picture shows the one nail I didn't wrap because it was a bit short, and you can definitely see a lighter, almost white edge at the tip. The shrinking wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, but it's definitely there!



This shows just how important it is to wrap your tips when using a quick dry topcoat! The difference is just night and day.

Poshe Topcoat Challenge: Day 1

This week's contender is Poshe! A bit of an underdog. Loved by some, but I hadn't heard of it til I saw it at my local Sally Beauty. Retails for ~$7




The methodology:

I cleaned and buffed my nails, then applied three thin coats of Hits No Olimpo in Dioniso. This is a great sparkly purple linear holographic polish, and something I figured I could stand looking at for almost a week.

Application was quick and easy - this topcoat is not as thick as Seche Vite, nor does it smell quite as bad. The shine factor's definitely there, and it dries very quickly!

Here are my nails right after I finished applying Poshe:

Left hand:


Right hand:


Side note: isn't that purple linear holo fantastic? I LOVE the way it looks!

Now we wait and see how this goes...

Glitter Gal Suede 3D Holo over OPI You Don't Know Jacques

I put this on last night after removing the short-lived silver and glitter mani (which wasn't too bad to remove by the way - I'm guessing because it hadn't had long enough to properly set!).

First I tried OPI's You Don't Know Jacques, which was pretty enough, a deep creamy brown, but I wanted something more on top of it. It looked somewhat similar to the bottle colour of my Glitter Gal Suede 3D holo, so I grabbed that and put one coat on top.

Glitter Gal Suede 3D Holo, a pretty, very subtle and understated creamy brown with just enough shimmer to make it interesting.

Photo 1, in natural light:



Photo 2, indoors with flash:



I think you could even get away with this in a fairly conservative workplace! The shimmer is so subtle, and barely there unless you're in the sun. I have yet to try two coats of this on its own, but I think I'll be doing that very soon.

Ozotics 532 over China Glaze Icicle

After being blown away by how Ozotics 532 showed over a plain black polish, I really wanted to see how it showed over a silver foil! So I pulled out my newly acquired China Glaze Icicle. This is two thin coats, which resulted in a lovely base silver foil. The formula's great, easy to apply, and goes on sheer, but it quite buildable.

In the shade:



In the sun:



Then I reached for the Ozotics 532, and waited for the wow...

Er? *head tilt*

Here's two coats of Ozotics 532 in the shade:



And in the sun:



The best picture I could get of the effect (pardon the lack of clean up):



It's extremely subtle, almost non-existent in fact. If you're looking for a high shine, high impact look, then this isn't the one for you! However if you want an extremely subtle holographic effect, then this might be fun.

I don't think I'll be attempting this again - it's obvious that this particular Ozotics is meant to be worn over darker colours.

Ozotics 532 BLEW MY MIND.

This is two coats of Ozotics 532 over Nicole by OPI Razzle Dazzle. This was the first time I've used either, and I was absolutely blown away by the Ozotics. Holy. Crap. If you're in Canada, Ozotics can be found at Harlow & Co.

NOPI Razzle Dazzle was a pretty bog standard black - thin and streaky on coat one, but settling in by coat two. If I wasn't topping this with something else, I'd need three thin coats to make it opaque.

I put two coats of Ozotics 532 on top, mainly because I dinged the first coat. It would have been fine with one I think, but two made it just POP. I need to try this over silver next.

Now onto the goodies. All these can be clicked on to see the original huge size - they're worth it!